Season 3
HvZ Season 3 was announced on August 5, 2011, and was the third game of Humans vs. Zombies held at DigiPen Institute of Technology. Season 3 began on Monday, October 10th, 2011, and lasted until Friday, October 14th, 2011. The season ended with the Zombie Horde defeating the Human Resistance during the Friday Night Finale. Approximately 110 players participated, almost doubling the size of the game since Season 2. Game Rules For the Official Season 3 game rules, see the Game Rules (Season 3) page. Overview Season 3 aimed to cover a number of improvements from Season 1 and Season 2, including a more integrated plotline, increased Zombie player retention, more game-affecting player choices, and heightened safety measures. It was the first Season to feature two Original Zombies, and the first Season in which players may start as Zombies (without needing to be tagged first). The game lasted an entire week, and had the least amount of administrative complaints and producer hotfixes of any season. Season 3 was also the first game run by a new team of producers that took over DigiPen HvZ after Season 2 (with the exception of Marian Huber, who was a Moderator during Season 1 and Season 2). Monday (Day 1) Monday featured the second ever Passive Mission. The mission required the Resistance to solve a series of five puzzles, each puzzle containing a logical portion and an outdoor exploration portion. The Resistance solved the final puzzle at approximately 8:00pm (earning Extended Magazines for the team), but not before suffering significant losses from Original Zombie Devin Kaas and other diehard Zombie players. The Original Zombies reported 12 kills on Monday, with a record total of approximately 37 Zombies by the end of the day. Tuesday (Day 2) The Resistance suffered fewer daytime deaths on Tuesday, saving much-needed manpower for the nighttime Active Mission. The Mission required a group of non-player scientists to be escorted from the DigiPen building to a cache of supplies located in the lower parking lot. Nearly 85 players attended the mission, which the Resistance completed at approximately 8:30pm. The victory earned the Humans the ability to use Electric Weapons, however roughly 15 Humans were killed upon retreating to the building. There were approximately 49 Zombies by the end of the day. Wendesday (Day 3) During the daytime, Wednesday proved to be as equally uneventful as Tuesday, however the nighttime Mission proved deadly for the Human Resistance. Although the Humans were given almost 20 late-starting players to bolster their dwindling numbers, the Resistance lost nearly half of its players as the Zombie onslaught crashed against the Humans' defense. Tasked with guarding more non-player scientists as they collected field data from the rear parking lot, the Humans barely completed the Mission around 8:40pm. Those Humans that survived the mission received Vaccines, granting them a free life if tagged. Wednesday's Mission also saw several outbreaks of rising player tension, prompting the Production Team to call a ceasefire, which lasted until midnight. There were approximately 73 Zombies by the end of the day. Thursday (Day 4) Even with Vaccines in-game, Thursday was not completely devoid of Human deaths; during the day, several Humans used their Vaccines as a "free pass" to get into school, only to be killed later upon trying to leave. Due to significant strain on the Production Team (and presumably to counterbalance the rampant growth of the Horde), the Thursday night Mission was cancelled. While several players openly disapproved the decision, most others took the opportunity to get caught up on schoolwork. There were approximately 78 Zombies by the end of the day. Friday (Day 5) With most players predicting a Zombie victory, few Zombies were seen hunting outside during the day. Friday did, however, yield the largest and arguably most famous emergent daytime event of Season 3. The Tasia Ryan Rescue Early Friday afternoon, Human Soldier Tasia Ryan arrived in DigiPen's rear parking lot. Unfortunately for Ryan, Zombie hunting was at its peak for the day, and several Zombies quickly cornered her before she could exit the car. During the 15-minute standoff that followed, Ryan continued to fire from her car at the Zombies, who continued to grow in number. The standoff ended after Delta Squad, a private team of Human veterans, arrived to rescue the Soldier after receiving a distress call from a Human overlooking the event. The Humans managed to secure the area enough to allow Ryan to safely exit her vehicle, but they were all eventually surrounded again by a total of nearly 20 Zombies. The face-off between the Horde and the Resistance lasted only minutes, and yielded no permanent Human deaths before Ryan and Delta Squadron returned to safety. The entire event lasted nearly 25 minutes, with players and non-players alike lining the second-floor windows to watch the event unfold. The Friday Night Finale The Season 3 Finale unfolded much as anticipated, resulting in a landslide victory by the Zombie Horde. The Human Resistance was first required to reach one of three points in the rear parking lot. The Resistance lost several players upon exiting the building, and lost several more during early Zombie attack waves. Roughly 20 Humans reached the objective point, and proceeded into Phase Two of the finale: lighting and defending a signal flare. The Humans held the spot for only five minutes before being overwhelmed by the Zombie Horde. Resistance Leader Kevin Katona was killed during one of the first massive Zombie waves targeting the Human Phalanx, followed by the death of Resistance Leader Adrian Orszulak in the following wave. Phase Three entailed getting one Human into a rescue vehicle, which unfortunately arrived just minutes late to the Humans' last stand. The Mission was not over, however, as Strike Team, a private squardon of Human operatives, had lit several other road flares in the rear lot. The sudden realization that Humans were still at-large prompted a large-scale Zombie Hunt. After almost ten minutes of hunting, the Horde cornered Strike Team, ending Season 3 in a much-expected victory for the Horde at 7:30pm. Trivia *More Humans died during the first three days of Season 3 than the entirety of Season 1 or Season 2. *Season 3 initially had different Missions planned for Days 3, 4, and 5. These Missions had to be remade mid-week to ensure the Humans wouldn't be killed within minutes. *Season 3 took nearly three months of planning and organization to prepare. *It was unknown whether or not Season 3 was going to take place until only 10 days before the start of the game. *The primary design challenge of Season 3 was to convince players that playing as a Zombie was fun. This goal was accomplished, to say the least. *Season 3's Friday Night Finale took place at 7:00pm, one hour earlier than previous Season 3 missions. The normal Mission time (8:00pm) was reserved for players to meet at the local Red Robin restaurant for the traditional post-Season dinner.